Arsenal capitalized on the opportunity to – at least temporarily – put their stamp on the top spot in the Premier League with a 2-0 win over Aston Villa and transfer the pressure to Leicester to respond in their matchup with Chelsea on Monday. Few were surprised by the Gunners’ win and even fewer were surprised when some of the top players from around the league rose to the top and provided the best fantasy performances from this past weekend. Here is a look at the top individual fantasy performances from this past weekend’s Premier League action based on position.
GK: Jack Butland, Stoke City
Stoke was forced to settle for a single point against West Ham United but that was no fault of Butland who made nine saves in order to secure the clean sheet for Stoke City. The veteran keeper has made 14 saves while registering three consecutive clean sheets for Stoke and it’s clear that Butland has done enough to earn consideration moving forward to future weeks in terms o his Daily Fantasy League stock. Crystal Palace’s Wayne Hennessey earned honorable mention for making three saves in a 1-0 win over Southampton while Watford’s Heurelho Gomes made three saves in a 1-0 victory over Sunderland. Honorable Mention: Wayne Hennessey, Crystal Palace; Heurelho Gomes, Watford
D: Allan Nyom, Watford
An assist on Odion Ighalo’s game-winning goal combined with a strong defensive performance for Watford was enough to make Nyom the star fantasy defender from this past week in the English Premier League. He edged out teammate Nathan Ake and Arsenal’s Laurent Koscielny for top honors at his position. Honorable Mention: Laurent Koscielny, Arsenal; Nathan Ake, Watford
M: Jordan Henderson, Liverpool
Henderson was an absolute beast for Liverpool over the weekend and if it weren’t for his incredible performance there is a good chance the Reds would have fallen to West Brom. Henderson registered a goal, an assist, five shots and a strong effort in his own end in order to secure top fantasy honors among the Premier League midfielders and he is the biggest reason Liverpool managed to salvage a point in their 2-2 draw.
M: Aaron Ramsey, Arsenal
Olivier Giroud netted the game-winning goal for Arsenal but it was Ramsey who secured the victory with an insurance marker and he had the better overall performance of the two thanks in big part to his three shots compared to Giroud’s one. Ramsey hasn’t been very good from a fantasy perspective this season so it was nice to see him step up in Arsenal’s win over Aston Villa. Honorable Mention: Yohan Cabaye, Crystal Palace; Joshua King, Bournemouth; Marouane Fellaini, Manchester United
F: Aleksander Mitrovic, Newcastle
Newcastle found a way to upset Tottenham thanks in large part to the play of Mitrovic up front. He came off the bench to provide a goal in the 74th minute that drew them level with Hotspurs and then added an assist on Ayoze Perez’s game-winning goal in the third minute of injury time. Newcastle had been in the relegation zone but the shocking upset of Tottenham – who is in fifth place in the EPL table – but now they are two points outside of it. It was a brilliant performance for the Newcastle and Mitrovic, and it’s no surprise he earned top honors among Premier League forwards.
F: Romelu Lukaku, Everton
It was Lukaku who broke through for Everton in the 15th minute and scored the goal that helped them secure a point in a disappointing 1-1 draw with Norwich. Lukaku would have certainly liked to add a second marker as illustrated by his five shots in the game but he is now up to 12 goals in 16 league games and comes in as the second-best fantasy performer among Premier League forwards from this past weekend. Honorable Mention: Kelechi Iheanacho, Manchester City; Divock Origi, Liverpool; Odion Ighalo, Watford
